Leach Field

Leach Field

(also filtration field), a plot of land on which sewage liquid undergoes natural biological decontamination as it is filtered through soil horizons.

Leach fields are established on sandy, sandy loam, and loamy soils with good filtration properties. They are flat and have an area of 0.5–2 hectares (ha). There are dividing ridges measuring 0.8–1 m high. Sewage liquid from which solid waste, fat, and worm eggs have been removed is fed past gates and through open canals onto the field in a layer of 20–30 cm (in the winter it is frozen to 75 cm). The sewage percolates through the soil and runs through drains to a collector. It then is dumped into a river. After the sewage liquid has been absorbed, the surface of the field is tilled and then flooded again.

Permissible daily norms for loads on leach fields are 70–125 cu m/ha for sand, 50–100 cu m/ha for sandy loam, and 40–70 cu m/ha for loam. Leach fields in which the waste is fed into the soil through drains are set up to decontaminate small amounts of sewage. In contrast to sewage farms, leach fields are not used for crop cultivation.

A septic tank has two chambers, a large one to separate the solids and liquids and a smaller one to allow any solids that make it out of the first section to settle before liquid enters the leach field.

An investigation of one of the properties also revealed liquid on top of the defendant's septic system and a garden hose attached to a sump pump that channeled untreated brown water from a septic tank, bypassing the leach field and discharging liquid in the direction of a river.

These chambers are made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and are increasingly replacing the traditional gravel and pipe set-up in septic leach field applications because they are easier to handle, and have lower labor and materials costs.

The latest state study examines chemical contamination in the former sodium reactor experiment complex, the old conservation yard, the Building 64 Leach Field and the new conservation yard at the field lab.

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